Charm
The Center for Healthy Aging and Resilience Medicine (CHARM) at Loyola University Chicago focuses on interdisciplinary basic science and clinical research on the molecular mechanisms driving normal aging processes, as well as the investigation of how cellular signaling pathways change across the lifespan.
Our directors place particular emphasis on:
- Women's health
- Genetics/epigenetics of aging
- Cellular repair pathways
- Cellular regeneration
- Telomere biology
- Oxidative stress/metabolism
- Immunity
Meet our Directors
Toni Pak, PhD
Director
Dr. Pak trained as a molecular neuoroendocrinologist and has devoted her career to understanding how fundamental molecular signaling pathways change across the normal lifespan, and in the context of various disease states. An expert in RNA biology with a primary focus on non-coding RNAs and their regulation across the lifespan, Dr. Pak is passionate about leading the initiative to form the Center for Healthy Aging and Resilience Mechanisms. Her proven leadership capabilities in collaborative research across multiple scientific disciplines promise to foster an innovative and excellent future for the center.
May Reem Bakir, MD
Clinical Co-Director
Dr. Bakir has been highly successful as the Medical Director of the Women's Heart Program. In her residency, Dr. Bakir took a special interest in how cardiovascular disease affects women and received the Constance A. Austin Grant which allowed her to complete a specialized, combined clinical and research fellowship studying women's cardiovascular disease at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. Dr. Bakir has maintained her passion for research focused on heart disease in women, preventative cardiology, coronary physiology, pathophysiology and advanced cardiac imaging.
The Center for Healthy Aging and Resilience Medicine (CHARM) at Loyola University Chicago focuses on interdisciplinary basic science and clinical research on the molecular mechanisms driving normal aging processes, as well as the investigation of how cellular signaling pathways change across the lifespan.
Our directors place particular emphasis on:
- Women's health
- Genetics/epigenetics of aging
- Cellular repair pathways
- Cellular regeneration
- Telomere biology
- Oxidative stress/metabolism
- Immunity